Elevating Voices in Leadership

Join us as we host our next student of the month, Erika Barnes-Ford, who is one of our doctoral students at Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology.

A little bit about her:

Erika Barnes Ford is a Political Strategist based in Roswell, Georgia. Her firm, The Candidates Coach, a subsidiary of Southern Solutions, LLC - which provides project management, business consulting, and political strategy - is a full-service campaign management and consulting agency focused on candidate development, recruitment, and messaging. Ms. Barnes Ford's experience includes process improvement and strategic planning in municipal and nonprofit management, legislative development, advocacy, and contracting. Active in a wide variety of community and political affairs for nearly three decades, her emphasis has focused on quality-of-life issues, including creative public policy, social justice reform, and working to change historical narratives and biases. Erika presently serves on the Executive Boards of several organizations, including the Mack Henry Brown Remembrance Coalition in collaboration with the Equal Justice Initiative, the Forward Together Foundation and The Humanity Group both focused on DEIB training and development, and the North Fulton NAACP, where she is the recently elected Branch President representing the six cities of North Metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia. Erika is a Woodruff Scholar Graduate of Agnes Scott College with a BA in History/ Africana Studies. She earned her Master of Public Administration at Troy University (Alabama) and is presently in the dissertation process at Pepperdine University's Graduate School of Education and Psychology in the Global Leadership and Change Ph.D. Program. Her research emphasis includes understanding the impacts of barriers to the electability of Black women to political office, benefits of inclusive and empathetic leadership, mitigating racial bias, and social justice inclusive K-12 curriculum development, as well as an interest in immigration policy reform. She has resided in Roswell since 2014.

Please join us as we interview our student of the month for December 2024, our PhD candidate, Tracey Heggins-Jackson. Tracey is attending Pepperdine University GSEP and is in the Global Leadership and Change program. She is currently a candidate, working on her Women Leaders ints dissertation, the Creative Arts.

Tracey is an independent creative artist, dedicated scholar, and advocate for gender equity in the arts. She is a proud mother and wife, drawing strength and inspiration from her family and creative pursuits. Currently completing her doctoral work at Pepperdine University, she focuses on empowering women in the creative industries to use storytelling and collaboration to challenge false narratives and foster equity. She is most proud of being a part of the Pepperdine community and looks forward to completing her dissertation.

Join us as Dr. Lina Safa and Dr. Maria Brahme speak to Ileana Muniz, who is a dedicated higher education professional. She speaks about her research on mothers pursuing higher education and the sense of belonging they feel while attending as students in various universities.

Ileana holds a Master of Science in Leadership in Higher Education from Pepperdine University and a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Chicano Latino Studies from California State University, Long Beach. With a robust background in Student Affairs, she has excelled as a Financial Aid Counselor and Student Services Coordinator, demonstrating her commitment to student-centered practices and a focus on holistic student development. Ileana’s passion is deeply rooted in supporting underrepresented students and fostering their academic success and personal growth through guidance, motivation, and empowerment. This passion stems from Ileana’s journey as a first-generation Mexican American and working mother pursuing higher education. Ileana’s most cherished role in life is being a wife and mother to her three wonderful children, who are her biggest inspiration in life and the driving force behind her dedication to empowering and uplifting others.

Join Dr. Lina Safa and GSEP student Peyton Corrigan as they speak on educators and career transition. The skills of K-12 educators need to be more understood, as exposure to teachers through personal academic experiences gives people a false perception of what the job entails. With low pay, lack of opportunity to grow professionally, and increased pressure and criticism for student testing performance, many educators want to leave the classroom and start a new career. Peyton's research describes the steps mid-career educators with years of teaching experience can take to pivot careers successfully. Data collected through informal interviews with former teachers who have transitioned out of the classroom provides insight into K-12 educators' transferable skills, how those skills can help them be marketable for new careers, and what role their purpose and calling to teach plays in a career transition.

Peyton Corrigan graduated from Biola University with a degree in Elementary Education and has taught in South Central, Los Angeles, for 5 years. She recently graduated from Pepperdine's Graduate School of Education and Psychology with a Masters of Science in Organizational Leadership and Learning. She recently moved to Texas to pursue a career outside of classroom teaching and is excited to see where her new degree and career pursuit will take her.

Join us and our guest, GSEP student Nicole Kramer as she discusses workplace dynamics, the impact leaders have on work environments, and what we need to do to remain competitive while being prepared for the vulnerability and uncertainty of the new workforce entering.

With 19 years of experience in the CPG industry, Nicole has collaborated with major companies like Deans, Coca-Cola, and Kellanova (formerly the Kellogg's Company). She has led successful teams and played a crucial role in driving innovation, introducing and sunsetting over 100 products yearly at a Coca-Cola bottling operation. Nicole's wealth of knowledge and diverse expertise enable her to empower individuals and foster growth in the workplace. Additionally, as a dedicated mother and spouse, her close-knit family brings me joy and strength, reflecting my values of love and support. She strives to create an inclusive learning environment that respects everyone's unique contributions to develop an unstoppable future workforce.

This episode features our student, Anna Margaryan, as she examines the challenges faced by school districts as they contend with the demand to provide equitable educational opportunities for a growing number of students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (EBD). Her research seeks to understand remedies by proposing a comprehensive school-within-a-school model that embeds academic, social-emotional, and behavioral supports.

Join us on this episode to learn more about this fascinating research!

Join us on this special episode hosted by Dr. Lina Safa and Dr. Maria Brahme where a panel of former GSEP students who have achieved their doctorates discuss their journeys of becoming mothers or being mothers while working on their doctoral degrees. If you're pursuing your doctorate while having a baby or taking care of your children, you will definitely want to listen to this episode.

Join us in this episode as our co-host, Dr. Lina Safa speaks to guest, Pepperdine GSEP student Peyton Corrigan on her study on transferable teachers, and mid-career changes occurring in the K-12 space.

The skills of K-12 educators need to be more understood, as exposure to teachers through personal academic experiences gives people a false perception of what the job entails. With low pay, lack of opportunity to grow professionally, and increased pressure and criticism for student testing performance, many educators want to leave the classroom and start a new career. This presentation describes the steps mid-career educators with years of teaching experience can take to pivot careers successfully. Data collected through informal interviews with former teachers who have transitioned out of the classroom provides insight into K-12 educators' transferable skills, how those skills can help them be marketable for new careers, and what role their purpose and calling to teach plays in a career transition.

Peyton Corrigan graduated Biola University with a degree in Elementary Education, and has taught in South Central, Los Angeles for 5 years. She recently graduated from Pepperdine's Graduate School of Education and Psychology with a Masters of Science in Organizational Leadership and Learning. She recently moved to Texas to pursue a career outside of classroom teaching, and is excited to see where her new degree and career pursuit will take her.

Join us on this episode as we talk to doctoral student Destiny Okonkwo about academic creative spaces. This insightful conversation brings a new perspective on creativity and whether or not spaces to be creative are brought into play within academia.

You can read Destiny's bio to get to know more about her.

Destiny k. Okonkwo is a Portfolio Project Manager , Digital Content Creator, and Doctoral Student, specializing in purpose driven operations, compartmentalized organizational management and creative digital content. She is currently studying to attain an Education Doctorate in Organizational Leadership, from Pepperdine University, School of Education and Psychology, with research interest in purpose driven curriculum in high school and impacts to adulthood life and career gratification. Within her current role, she is an IT Project Manager at Easterseals Southern California within the Information Technology department of the organization.

Many women scholars with disabilities, like Dr. Toby Baker, have exemplified the roles of leader, scholar, and teacher. As a woman with a learning disability and ADHD, her research reflects on the actionable steps she has taken to be successful as an academic researcher and scholar. Using relevant data based on her 2021 case study, Dr. Baker shows why post-secondary students with disabilities (SWDs) drop out of college settings and offers solutions for the academic success of SWDs. Additionally, she shares perspectives of college faculty and provide steps for succeeding in college. Most importantly, she relates her own experience as a post-secondary student with a disability. Dr. Baker discusses the challenges faced during college as an undergrad and graduate student, and shares her stories of perseverance, overcoming adversity, and emerging as a respected scholar. Join us in this episode as she discusses her latest book, The Traveling IEP!